Mitarashi Dango
Mitarashi dango is a Japanese treat that consists of charred rice dumplings glazed with a sweet and salty sauce. It's chewy, toasty, and fun to make! Enjoy this sweet treat as an afternoon snack with tea!
Ingredients
Dango
- 3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 2 and 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp water adjust if needed
Mitarashi sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin optional
- 2 tsp cornstarch diluted in 1 tsp water
Instructions
Dango
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the sweet rice flour, white rice flour, and sugar to a mixing bowl. Whisk until combined.
- Next, pour in the water and knead using your hands until it forms a firm dough. If it's too dry, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time until the dough is firm but not crumbly.
- Scoop out balls of dough. Using a measuring spoon, scoop out 2 teaspoons of dough.Gently roll each ball between the palms of your hands until smooth, and transfer them to a plate.
- Cook. To cook the dumplings, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the dumplings and cook for about 3 minutes. I recommend stirring with a spoon to create a vortex and prevent the balls from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once the dumplings are floating, cook for one more minute.
- Drain and rinse. Fill a bowl with ice-cold water and transfer the cooked dumplings into it using a slotted spoon. This will stop the cooking process. You can then drain the dumplings and transfer them to a plate lined with plastic wrap.
- Skewer. Pierce 4 dumplings onto a small skewer. Repeat with the remaining dumplings and place the skewers on a plate lined with plastic wrap to prevent sticking.
- Toast. Working with one skewer at a time, char the rice dumplings evenly until lightly charred. To do so, you can use a kitchen blowtorch or grill the dumplings on the stove over an open flame. Be careful not to burn yourself!
- Transfer the charred dango to a serving plate and top with the Mitarashi sauce. Serve immediately!
Mitarashi sauce
- Combine the ingredients. Add the sugar, soy sauce, mirin, and water to a saucepan. Whisk together the cornstarch with the water in a small bowl and set aside.
- Let simmer. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it simmer for about 1 minute or until the sugar dissolves.
- Thicken. Pour in the cornstarch slurry and whisk until the sauce thickens.
Notes
- Adjust the sweetness to your liking. While this recipe is not overly sweet, you can easily reduce the sweetness by using less sugar in the dumpling dough and/or the glaze. It won't really alter the texture.
- Add the water gradually. Since not all flours are equal, slowly pour the water into the flour and knead until it forms a firm but not crumbly dough. You might not need to use the full amount of water. Be aware that if your dough is too soft, the dumplings won't keep their shape well during the cooking process.
- Serve immediately. Dango is best served immediately while the dumplings are tender and the syrup is warm. After a while, the dumplings tend to harden.
- Dust with Kinako. For more flavor, you can dust the dango with Kinako, a toasted soybean flour.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 Skewer | Calories: 167 kcal | Carbohydrates: 39 g | Protein: 2 g | Fat: 0.6 g | Sodium: 227 mg | Potassium: 9 mg | Fiber: 1.1 g | Sugar: 13.8 g | Calcium: 5 mg